Free Pointe of Breaking by Amy Daws, Sarah J. Pepper

bike’s gauges. He leaned further to check the opposite handle bar for scratches or…whatever. I was sure there were all sorts of scratches here and there, costing a small fortune to fix, but all I could concentrate on was him pressed firmly against my back. His hips fit entirely too perfectly against my backside. The euphoric scent of his cologne made me not want to pull away just yet. That and I swore his chest didn’t move when I leaned back against him ever-so-slightly. He chose that to be the best time to check the cushion of the seat just in front of me. His fingers slid over the leather and somehow managed to graze my shirt. When I didn’t object, he stopped inspecting his bike and began an examination on me. He pressed his fingers against my shirt. My stomach did a flip when his hand slipped over it.
    The pound of his heartbeat on my back might as well have been drumming in my ears. He wrapped his hands around my waist. They almost fit all the way around me. I never felt so petite next to someone like him. He towered over me, around me, like I’d been created to fit snuggly next to him. He breathed in the scent of my hair as he traced his chin down the nape of my neck.
    “You have something I want.” His remark came out heavy with unspoken desire.
    I looked over my shoulder so that our faces nearly touched. My question came out ragged as all I could think about was my desperation to lick his lips. “What?”
    He suddenly tore his gaze from mine. “The helmet.”
    Abruptly, he let go of me and walked up the apartment complex steps. The sudden vacancy of his warmth left me trembling against the early autumns air. It took me a moment—an embarrassingly long moment—to gather myself before I met him at the front door. Leaning against the doorframe, he watched me walk up next to him. He couldn’t take his eyes off of me, and I couldn’t figure out his strategy. Was he seducing me? No, that didn’t make any sense. No man in their right mind would return to a girl who did what I did to his suit jacket.
    Nevertheless, I couldn’t deny, nor did I want to, the irresistible attraction between us. Just as mesmerizing as his russet eyes was the captivating grin he gave me when my door keys slipped from my grasp. My trembling hands were seriously calling me out. I was blowing my cool factor. I dropped my gaze and bent over to pick up the blasted keys.
    “Fuck,” Leo whispered.
    I swore his hand caressed my outer thigh. I paused, desperate to memorize his touch against me.
    Oh, snap out of it!
    If all he wanted was his helmet, then I could give that to him. And then be done with him. We’d never be anything more than two very different people awestruck in each other’s presence.
    I managed to unlock the door just as my elderly neighbor with the shih tzu shouted to hold the door. She hobbled down the hallway as fast as anyone could in a walker with tennis balls on the bottom. Leo held it open for her. While I waited for him, I walked to my mailbox and tried to act like I had half a brain and could do normal things. I needed to focus. I needed distance.
    Inside my mailbox, there was a stack of envelopes and a final notice lying ominously on the top. I shuffled them around, not wanting anyone to see, especially Leo. I definitely wasn’t going to tell him about my money troubles or family history in general, bring up the fact that his family funded my dance scholarship, or that I might not even need the funding if Joffrey kicked me out.
    I turned around to show him up to my studio apartment, when I smacked right into his chest. My hand pressed flat against his leather jacket. I hesitated to move away…I couldn’t. He smelled so damn good. Even so, I mustered the strength to take a step back, uttering an apology about walking into him.
    Without warning, he snatched my waist and pulled me hard against him. He stole a kiss—an impulsive kiss that I wasn’t about to deny him. His lips moved over mine, opening my mouth